The Summit Series, the five-year old entrepreneur conference run by a gang of mostly twenty-something nomads, is setting down roots. On December 3rd the Summit Group announced that it had taken over management of Utah's Powder Mountain (rumors have been around for months) and is set to close the transaction in early 2013. With Powder comes an average of 500 inches of annual snowfall and 10,000 plus acres of ski-able terrain--the largest ski mountain in North America. The deal is set to close in early 2013.

Summit in recent years gained notoriety in the start-up world for its annual A-list-packed, weekend conferences that have taken over both a cruise ship and Squaw Valley, California. These innovation festivals have included speakers and attendees like President Bill Clinton, Virgin Billionaire Richard Branson, Paypal chief and Facebook's first investor Peter Thiel, Mark Cuban, Russel Simmons, and Ted Turner. Now it's transforming itself from an annual event to a year-round community. Think entrepreneurial country club.

Here's how it works. Members buy plots of land on Powder Mountain (early lots were rumored to have sold for $1 million a pop), build a home and get access to a private lodge and thousands of acres of skiing, riding, biking and hiking. Membership to Summit also brings a year-round program of speakers, conferences and concerts. The goal is to create a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who dig the Summit ethos of innovation, art and social impact with some hard partying mixed in.

The Summit group, co-founded by Elliott Bisnow , Brett Leve, Jeff Rosenthal and Jeremy Schwartz in 2008, plans to operate Powder Mountain, a long-time local-favorite, for the public just as it has been since the 1970s. The new twist will be a member-only lodge (under construction now) and an event center atop the mountain, and expanded access to adventure skiing and hiking terrain.

Powder Mountain, located about an hour from Salt Lake City in the sleepy community of Eden, Utah was founded by Dr. Alvin Cobabe who opened the ski resort in 1972. In 2005, the land was sold to a consortium managed by the Daniels Group that at one time planned to Vail-erize the area with a monster development containing as many as 10,000 new homes. Locals protested. The real estate market crashed. Nothing was done.

Summit will not comment on the purchase price of the land, but rumors say the deal transacted at around $40 million. What is known is that Summit has no plans to turn Powder Mountain into an alpine Disney World. Summit's Thayer Walker tells me that plans for the Summit community call for a maximum of 500 private homes, plus a sustainable mountain village and maybe a few boutique hotels down the line. Their idea is to bring together a camp of social-minded entrepreneurs in an environment that's less winter resort and more national park--a national park with it's own recording studio.